Connector for electric cords



Sept. 1 l, 1951 M. c. RICHARDSON 2,567,783

CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRIC CORDS Filed Sept. 21, 1948 ii 1 E llllllll HHIIIIIHI //\/z/&/\/ U MAX c. EWCHAQDSON fl TTU 'A/ES Patented Sept. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CONNECTOR FOR ELECTRIC CORDS Max 0. Richardson, Portland, 'Oreg. Application September 21, 1948, Serial No. 0,403

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to electric cords of the type generally used with portable household appliances. Such cords comprise two electrical conductors, each made up of a number of strands of copper wire and having each conductor fully insulated with a rubber or plastic compounded cover. Formerly these cords were made up with the insulated conductors twisted together but now it is more common for the conductors to be parallel in the cord.

Particularly, this invention relates to connectors for such electric cords and has for its principal object the provision of such a connector which will be complete in itself which will require no other insulation or repair material Of any type to make connection and yet will be easy to use to make a connection which will be both mechanically and electrically secure.

A second object is to provide such a cord connector which can be used to make with equal ease either a two, three, or four-way connection. That is to say, with this invention, cords may be connected in either cross, T, or L connection as desired. A cross connection is a connection made intermediate the ends of both cords so that both ends of both cords are available for other circuit connections. A T connection is a connection made intermediate the ends of one of the cords and so near the end of the other cord that the connected end of the other cord is not available for other circuit connection. An L connection is a connection made so near one of the ends of each of the cords that the connected ends of each of the cords are not available for further circuit connections.

Yet a third object is to provide such a cord connector which cannot be mis-appl-ied or which requires no knowledge of electrical circuits to use properly.

How these and other objects are attained will be apparent on reference to the following description and to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective view of the connector of this invention as applied to connect both electrically and mechanically two electric cords crossing at right angles.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the assembly of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section along the line 3--3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the body part, of which two are required to make the connector.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 as constructed for one form of the invention.

Fig. 6 is the same as Fig. 5 except that the barrier at one end of the cord receiving. groove has been broken away to allow the connector to be used for a cross connection.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 except that the barrier for the end of the cord groove shown in Fig. 5 has been replaced by a groove to receive a replaceable barrier.

Fig. 8 is a view of the replaceable barrier used with the form of the invention shown in Fig. 7.

Like numbers of reference refer to the same or similar parts throughout the several views.

Referring now to the drawings. it should be noted that the illustrated forms of the invention are each made up of two identical subassemblies, each comprising a molded body II with a conducting staple [2 held there'inand in assembly the two halves are secured? together by the small bolts 13 assembled through the holes H in the body parts ll. On itsfifmating face, body Ii is crossed by cord groove I5 formed, to fit closely one of the cords 16 to be connected. Conducting metal staple 12, having a long point is and a short point 20, is assembled into the body H from the side opposite its mating face, point 20 inserting through hole Min the bottom of the cord groove and oint l9 inserting through hole 22 on the flat-mating face-of body II. The cross bar of staple l2 comes to rest at the bottom of a suitably formed groove 23 sunk into body H on the side opposite its mating face.

After assembly of staple I2 into body II, it is held in place by filling groove 23 with an insulating and sealing compound as is usual in. the art. Point 19 rises above the mating face of body H and point 20 rises above the bottom of cord groove l5, each a distance a little less than the cord thickness.

To make a connection between cords l5 and I1, cord 16 is pressed into the cord groove in one body H where one of the conductors of cord 15 is penetrated by point 20 of that body and cord I1 is pressed into the cord groove in the other body H where one of the conductors of cord I1 is penetrated by point 20 of the other body H. The two bodies I I are then laid face to face with the cords l6 and I1 at right angles to each other and pressed together, which causes points l9 to respectively penetrate the other conductors of cords l6 and H. The two bodies I] are held in place by assembling bolts l3 therethrough.

To make an L connection ofthe cords t6 and I1, the cords would extend from the connector on one side only and, therefore, the cord grooves at the other sides must be insulatedly closed,

For this purpose as is shown in Fig 5, a barrier 24 is molded into the body II at each end of the wire groove. A shallow groove is sunk into body II on each side of barrier 24 so that where the barrier is broken out, as shown in Fig. 6, no ragged edge will extend into the wire groove to damage the cord insulation. It is obvious that to make an L connection, the barrier at one end of each of the bodies II would have to be broken away, To'make a T connection both barriers would be broken away from the wire groove of one body, but only one of the barriers would be broken away from the wire groove of the other body. To make a cross connection, both barriers would be broken away from both bodies.

In Fig. 7 is shown how a groove 26 could be formed in the body II to receive a separable barrier 25 and the separable barrier 25 is shown in Fig. 8. Whether the barriers are molded in and broken away as desired or whether they are made separable and inserted as desired is a matter of choice, either method being contemplated in the practice of the invention.

It is further contemplated in the practice of this invention that on the mating face of body I I and on a line diametrically at right angles to the line of bolt holes I4, a post 30 will be molded at one side of the wire groove and a similar sized hole.3l will be sunk at the other side of the wire groove. In the assembly of the connector on a pair of cords,"it is seen that in this case thepost of one body II will be inserted into the hole of the other body I I and the proper orientation of the two bodies in assembly will be assured.

Having thus shown the novel and useful means by which the objects of the invention are attained, I claim:

1. In combination with a pair of insulated two conductor electric cords of the type in which the conductors of each cord are parallel and insulated from each other, said cords being positioned with one of said cords laid with one of its flat sides against one of the fiat sides of the other of said cords and at an angle thereto,

means for holding said cords in their said adjacent and crossed positions, means for electrically connecting one of said conductors of one of said cords to one of said conductors of the other of said cords and for electrically connecting the other of said conductors of said one of said cords to the other of said conductors of the other Of said cords, said holding means comprising a pair of insulating elements and means for securing one of said elements to the other of said elements, each of said elements comprising means forming a flat surface having a cord receiving groove sunk therein, said electrically connecting means comprising a pair of double pointed conducting members, one of said members being secured in one of said elements, the other of said members being secured in the other of said'elements, one of said points of one of said members emerging from one of said elements within its said groove, the other of said points said connector being adapted to electrically connect one of said conductors of one of said cords to one of said conductors of the other of said cords and to electrically connect the other of said conductors of one of said cords to the other of said conductors of the other of said cords, said connector comprising a pair of insulating elements and means for securing one of said elements to the other of said elements, each of s'aid'elements comprising means forming a flat surface having a cord receiving groove sunk therein, and a pair of double pointed conducting members, one of said members being secured into one of said elements, the other of said members being secured into the other of said elements, one of said points of one of said members emerging from one of said elements within its said groove and the other of said points emerging from said one of said elements through its said flat surface.

3. The device of claim 2 in which one of said elements is formed with a transverse barrier near one end of said groove.

4. The device ofclaim 2 in which one of said elements is formedv with a second groove in the wall of said groove near one end and transversely thereof to receive a barrier for the purpose of terminating said groove.

5. The device of claim 2 in which one of said elements is formed with means for angularly positioning said one of said elements with respect to the other of said elements to assure the correct electrical connection of said cords 6. In combination with a first pair of insulated electric wires and a second pair of insulated electric wires, means for mechanically and electrically securing one of said first pair of wires to one of said second pair of wires and the other of said first pair of wires to the other of said second pair of wires, said means comprising a pair of insulating elements and means for securing one of said elements to the other of said elements, each of said elements comprising means forming a fiat surface, said flat surface having means for receiving one of said pairs of insulated wires sunk therein, and a pair of double pointed conducting members, one of said members being secured in one of said elements, the other of said members being secured in the other of said elements, one of said points of one of said members emerging from one of said elements within its said sunken wire receiving means and the other of saidpoints emerging from said one of said elements through: its said flat surface, one of said points of the other of said'members emerging from the other of said elements within its said sunken wire receiving means and the otherof said points of saidother of said members emerging from said other of said elements through its said flat surface.

. MAXC. RICHARDSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file-of this patent: V p

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 769,646 Case 'Sept. 6, 1904 1,812,396 Eckstein' -s June 30, 1931 2,110,513 Toelke Mar. 8, 1938 2,164,381 Bradley July 4, 1939 2,197,897 Peck .-l Apr. 23, 1940 2,352,224 Read June 27, 1944 2,353,778 1 Mattis' July 18, 1944 2,440,924 Berrander May 4,1948 

